Society Aging China The Appearance of Consensus is Breaking Down Asian Megacities, Free and Unfree Can China Deliver the China Dream(s)? Ceaseless Quest to Silence Dissent China Watches Newtown: Guns and American Credibility China's "Nobel Complex" Chinese Style Love For Many in China, the One Child Policy is Already Irrelevant Freedom Gay Lovers Desperately Seeking "a Wife" While Chinese society does not exhibit the same rampant homophobia present in many other nations, the struggle of homosexuals exists as a problem in modern China due to the expectations regarding marriage and childbearing that have persisted in the country. Historically, male same-sex relationships existed as allowable and were even honored in China, although these relations were virtually only admissible outside of marriage, as marriage remained a sort of requirement in the society. The pressure to marry stemmed from the desire to carry on family lines, and the nonfulfillment of this expectation was seen as the most unforgivable instance of unfilial behavior. China legalized homosexuality in 1997, but marriage still presents an issue as a result of residual societal pressures and the cultural importance of family. Parents encourage their children to marry and have their own children, so many gay men and women avoid coming out to their families or marry to placate their parents. Parents push daughters to marry at an earlier age than sons, and some people grow suspicious of single men and women. Zhang Beichuan, an expert on the subject at Qingdao University, estimates that eighty percent of gay men and women marry. Some find homosexual partners of the opposite sex either online or through connections, but he believes that most marry straight partners. Some of these couples choose to have children, while others do not. Some couples agree to terminate the marriage with a planed divorce, but other marriages in which one spouse does not know of his or her partner’s sexuality end in a progression toward disagreement and divorce. Issues concerning the division of property and the custody of children may arise during these marriages. One man stated that being openly gay presents challenges in the workplace, as people question single adults and treat employees who hold a role in supporting their families with more generosity. In addition, gay couples face many social and political difficulties in raising children due to birth control policies and the prevailing opinions regarding homosexuality, marriage, and childbearing in China. I found this article to be very thought-provoking, and it helped me to expand on my knowledge from our class discussion about this issue. The fact that homosexuality is acceptable but that this tolerance is overridden by expectations to marry and raise children is very telling of the importance of family lines in Chinese culture. In this manner, the treatment of this issue in China exists as both similar to and different from the approach to this issue in other parts of the world due to the fact that only some aspects of homosexuality are perceived as permissible in Chinese culture. - Sophia T.
As long as there has been struggle in China, there has been female infanticide. (The killing of baby girls). This is because, in Chinese culture, a girl is of not much use to a poor family. She usually goes off to another family. However, a boy can take care of his parents when they get old. As a result of this, in the new generation, there are 30 million more boys than girls. They are set to enter the mating market in 2020. That has resulted in men trying a lot harder in life, so they can become a more desirable mate for a woman. Another factor of this is that when a community is made up of mostly young men, there tends to be a lot more crime. Crime rates in Chicago neighborhoods can be related to the abundance of young men. Gambling, drug abuse, and the kidnapping and trafficking of women has already started to rise.
-Robbie H.
Corruption & Reform
Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader
Bold Remembrances for a Chinese Reformer
Boss Rail: The Disaster That Exposed the Underside of the Boom
The Children Devour the Revolution
China's Corruption Doesn't Match Gilded-Age America
Chinese Kleptocracy
Communist Party Cadres Launch Property Fire Sale
Corruption in Military
Economy in Thrall to Its Underworld
For Complainers, a Stint in China's Black Jails
A Day in the Life of a Beijing "Black Guard"
From Police Chief to Political Office, Jobs are for Sale in China
In an interesting exposé by Louisa Lim, Lim identifies a hot bed issue currently amongst the government of China, and as she later goes on to point out, an issue with the Chinese workforce itself. Corruption is quite prevalent in China. It has a guiding force within Chinese culture and dictates what many Chinese individuals can hope to obtain in terms of job offers and the future they aspire to. The article, though, made a drastic claim that if no reform of their system happens, the system will collapse. I thought that this was an interesting statement. As Lim highlights, corruption is an ingrained part of the society, and though Chinese political figures pledge to rid the country of corruption, I do not see this as a feasible means. I thought it was unrealistic that the only solution that Lim and her interviewees seemed to see was a complete overhaul of the system.
Laura
Interview with Chen Guangcheng
Land Seizures Drop
Prison Slaves
Rage Against the Elite
Richer-Than-Romney Lawmakers
Why Do Billionaires Keep Ending Up in Prison?
Education
Asian Schools Jump in Rank
Baby Geniuses
Broken Dreams
Expired Milk and Piece of Bread School Lunch
Families Bet it All on College for Their Children
The Gaokao Highway to Hell
The Learning Virtues
Next Made-in-China Boom: College Graduates
Students by Millions Fill Labor Gap
Why Rural Kids Don't Go to College
Environment & Pollution
Anger Over Pollution Becomes Main Cause of Social Unrest
China Loves Pork Too Much
China Rising
Cities of the Future
Coal's Future Seems Secure
Electric Vehicles in China
Geoengineering Has Immediate Appeal to China
Hong Kong Seizes More than 1000 Smuggled Ivory Tusks
How Cities Can Save China
Massive Water Problem
Poaching of Migratory Birds Ignites Netizen Anger and Activism
Push for Increased Energy from Renewables
Rescuing China's Bears from Bile Farms
The Silence Around Tibet's Ecological Crisis
Spill in China Underlines Environmental Concerns
Survey Reveals Widespread Coastal Pollution
Ten Minutes to Help You Understand China's Environmental Emergency
Tibetan Mountain Finch Rediscovered After 80 Years
What Happens When Asia's Water Dries Up?
Yaks are Returning to Tibet, but Does Climate Change Pose Further Risks?
Foreign Relations
Africa: What are China's Intentions?
Beijing Embraces UN Role
Beijing's Blue Berets: UN Peacekeeping and the Evolution of Chinese Diplomacy
Can China-Russia Relations Endure?
China's Afghan Moment
China Most Threatening Cyberspace Force
Fleeing North Korea Through "Asia's Underground Railroad"
Hydro-Hegemony
In Asia, Ill Will Runs Deep
Military Spending Unnerves Neighbors
North Korea Poses Big Challenge to China's New Leader
Those Islands
Vietnam Breaks Up Anti-Chinese Protests
What Do We Make of the Chinese Hacking?
Government
The Creation Myth of Xi Jinping
Ex-Party Official Lambastes Chinese Leaders
How to Get to the Top of China's Communist Party
The Key to Bringing Democracy to China
Party Trumps a Strongman
The Real China Model
Reformers Aim to Get China to Live Up to Own Constitution
Media & Internet
Beijing Spends a Billion to Get China Rocking
I feel like you shouldn’t or could even, dictate where the “new thing” could happen. I think it’s a great idea, but kind of unnecessary. China probably feels the pressure of not having the China version of Psy’s fame. Another reason China does not have a Psy is because of how tightly regulate their Internet, radio and television. This quote, really sums up how musicians feel about the plans,
"Combining music and politics is really strange, because the music you get out of it just won't be any good," he said. "If they really want to improve this culture, they need to open up a bit." - Emma Ming
Censorship is a Must, Says China's Nobel Winner
Cheap Meth! Cheap Gun! Click Here.
China People's Daily Falls Kim for Jong Eun "Sexist Man Alive" Spoof
China's Paid Trolls
This article quickly jumped out at me because, as a internet goer/gamer, i am familiar with the term"troll".
it was interesting to read about how China is actually paying people to post comments like the ones i have seen on forums. I have noticed when reading some "troll comments", and is a know fact on the internet, that most trolls don't actually believe what they are typing, but are doing it to attract attention. I thought that it was just like a child though, and never thought that this could be used to distract, or even change peoples opinions
-michael
China's Speilberg Calls Out Censors
Coming Soon: a Truly Chinese Internet
How China Social Media is Changing Lives
Human Flesh Search Engine
Internet: A Force, but not for Democracy
The Internet vs. the Chinese Government
Me and My Censor
Social Media Fuel Citizen Response to Quake
The "Southern Weekend" Strike
Society
Aging China
The Appearance of Consensus is Breaking Down
Asian Megacities, Free and Unfree
Can China Deliver the China Dream(s)?
Ceaseless Quest to Silence Dissent
China Watches Newtown: Guns and American Credibility
China's "Nobel Complex"
Chinese Style Love
For Many in China, the One Child Policy is Already Irrelevant
Freedom
Gay Lovers Desperately Seeking "a Wife"
While Chinese society does not exhibit the same rampant homophobia present in many other nations, the struggle of homosexuals exists as a problem in modern China due to the expectations regarding marriage and childbearing that have persisted in the country. Historically, male same-sex relationships existed as allowable and were even honored in China, although these relations were virtually only admissible outside of marriage, as marriage remained a sort of requirement in the society. The pressure to marry stemmed from the desire to carry on family lines, and the nonfulfillment of this expectation was seen as the most unforgivable instance of unfilial behavior. China legalized homosexuality in 1997, but marriage still presents an issue as a result of residual societal pressures and the cultural importance of family. Parents encourage their children to marry and have their own children, so many gay men and women avoid coming out to their families or marry to placate their parents. Parents push daughters to marry at an earlier age than sons, and some people grow suspicious of single men and women. Zhang Beichuan, an expert on the subject at Qingdao University, estimates that eighty percent of gay men and women marry. Some find homosexual partners of the opposite sex either online or through connections, but he believes that most marry straight partners. Some of these couples choose to have children, while others do not. Some couples agree to terminate the marriage with a planed divorce, but other marriages in which one spouse does not know of his or her partner’s sexuality end in a progression toward disagreement and divorce. Issues concerning the division of property and the custody of children may arise during these marriages. One man stated that being openly gay presents challenges in the workplace, as people question single adults and treat employees who hold a role in supporting their families with more generosity. In addition, gay couples face many social and political difficulties in raising children due to birth control policies and the prevailing opinions regarding homosexuality, marriage, and childbearing in China. I found this article to be very thought-provoking, and it helped me to expand on my knowledge from our class discussion about this issue. The fact that homosexuality is acceptable but that this tolerance is overridden by expectations to marry and raise children is very telling of the importance of family lines in Chinese culture. In this manner, the treatment of this issue in China exists as both similar to and different from the approach to this issue in other parts of the world due to the fact that only some aspects of homosexuality are perceived as permissible in Chinese culture. - Sophia T.
The Generation That’s Making China – Yang Lan
It's 'Til Death - Or Taxes - Do Us Part
Kay Kay - The Girl from Guangzhou
No Country for Old Age
The Price of Marriage in China
Redefining the Meaning of "Chinese"
Social Divisions are Written in a Little Red Booklet
Too Many Men
As long as there has been struggle in China, there has been female infanticide. (The killing of baby girls). This is because, in Chinese culture, a girl is of not much use to a poor family. She usually goes off to another family. However, a boy can take care of his parents when they get old. As a result of this, in the new generation, there are 30 million more boys than girls. They are set to enter the mating market in 2020. That has resulted in men trying a lot harder in life, so they can become a more desirable mate for a woman. Another factor of this is that when a community is made up of mostly young men, there tends to be a lot more crime. Crime rates in Chicago neighborhoods can be related to the abundance of young men. Gambling, drug abuse, and the kidnapping and trafficking of women has already started to rise.
-Robbie H.
Wary of Future, Professionals Leave China in Record Numbers
Why China Lacks Gangnam Style
Willing Workers Not Quite as Willing as Before
Why Most Chinese Still Support the Death Penalty
Tibet & Xinjiang
China Powerless to Prevent Rising Tide of Tibetan Self-Immolations
Chinese Intellectuals are Silent
Dalai Lama Expects China Political Reform
Dislocation, Dislocation, Dislocation
Exiled Uyghur Leaders Call for China Reforms
Mining in Tibet
Tibet is Burning
US Ambassadors Confirms Meeting with Tibetans
Women
China Imprisons Four Men for "Ghost Marriage" Corpse Bride Trafficking
The Clamor Over Peng Liyuan, China's National Mother
A Conversation About Domestic Abuse Begins
Factory Women
The Importance of Being Finished
"Leftover" Women
This article completely shocked me. When I read the first few paragraphs, I stopped and read them again because I thought I might have misunderstood. A feminist organization advocating women think lesser of themselves if they don't marry by a certain age? I didn't understand. For what I think to be obvious reasons I don't agree with the stance of the All-China Women's Federation on their crude choice of wording "Leftover" women. The organization is placing the entire value of a women on her marital life. The main thing the article taught or maybe more just emphasized to me, was just how influential the government is. While China is not close to the kind of government involvement there was during the Mao regime, there is still a lot of power being held by political entities . The whole idea that China wants to "upgrade the population quality" and in order to do that, they would, with seemingly no issue, demolish the confidence of tons of women simply pursuing an education farther than most women, and maybe putting marriage father back in their mind has caused me to lose that much more faith in humanity. -Sylvia
Rise of the Princesslings
Rising University Entrance Barriers
Women Officially Equal But Lagging Far Behind Politically
Women Protest at Gynaecological Exams for Civil Service Jobs